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He doesn’t answer immediately—the first sign of more trouble. I’m tired of constantly having to put out fires. No one wants to give me bad news. “The package has been delivered.”
I rub the back of my neck as I make ahumphsound. Without me needing to raise a finger, my town car pulls up to the curb. Thirty minutes later, I walk into my club, The Horsemen, and into the back room. A stuffed teddy bear is torn in half on the table. Its head is on one side, its body on the other, while small diamonds sit in the middle that were stuffed in the toy’s insides.
“They’re fake,” my cousin Mikhail says, standing up.
I look at the appraiser for confirmation. Slowly, my eyes drift over each person in the room. I can feel my lips tighten as they press together. “How is this possible?” My tone is even, although my anger continues to build from within.
“Someone must have tampered with it before we got to it,” a soldier responds.
I scratch at the dark scruff along my jawline. Before I can voice my question, it’s answered behind me.
“The sellers are in the basement. I’ve interrogated them long enough to know they sent us legit product,” Spider informs me. He’s my best man for getting secrets out of people. He’s young, only eighteen. But loyal. I saved him when he was twelve, and he’s worked for me ever since.
“I just sold those diamonds.” My jaw clenches. I can only assume this has the Italians’ dirty hands all over it. It’s the second time they’ve screwed me over. The first time, they shot up one of my deals. Now, they’re hijacking my shit.
I’m the largest distributor of black-market diamonds. I will not be pushed to the side.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I could have promised a later delivery date. My mind conjures up ideas of how I’m going to rectify this mistake that’s out of my control.
The room is silent. I can hear everyone breathing. It’s getting under my skin, annoying me.
“We didn’t realize it was switched during transit,” one brave soul admits. My first instinct is to shoot him immediately. Instead, I shoot his partner, who chose to stay quiet.
“Plan a decoy shipment to go out. I want to know everything about it.”
I don’t have to look twice at my men. They scramble around, disappearing from my view before I decide to kill any more people tonight.
Chapter 2: Demetri
Aweeklater,Ifind the source for my missing diamonds. Leo O’Conner. I hate that I was wrong; it wasn’t the Italians. It was the Irish. The Irish leader’s nephew, Fin, is a cocky bastard. I wonder if I can get to Leo through him.
My forehead throbs with a violent pulse. I need an hour to myself, so I take a detour, away from The Horsemen. If I go there right now, I’ll kill someone. At the rate I’m going, I won’t have much of an army to follow me, if I end up burying them all.
I head into a pub where no one knows me. The music is loud, the room dark. Everyone is milling around, carefree and happy. I hide away in a corner with a bottle of beer. My fingers tighten around the glass, wishing it were flesh between my fingertips. From my asking around I’ve learned I can’t get close to Leo. His nephew seems to be in hiding. No one has seen him in months.
I’m stressed and ready to explode on anyone who dares to glance my way. Killing my men because I can’t keep my emotions in check is not the best leadership skill.
“A new gun would make you happy.”
It’s just my luck that the one place I thought I wouldn’t see anyone is the place I still run into people from my world. I scowl at Ron Wheeler. He’s a mousy-looking nerd. How he’s survived this long is unknown to me. But it gives me an idea. “I’m putting a contract on your head.” He glares at me, trying to contemplate if I’m being serious.I am.“I just need to use you as bait. You can have the contract when no one completes it.” Meaning he can kill Fin O’Conner when he fails. What Ron doesn’t know is that I plan to kill Fin first.
“What do I get in return?”
“You can look like the hero by saying you placed a contract on your own head.” I shrug, uninterested. I don’t need his permission.
I’m not surprised that he counters my offer. “The contract must be taken up. If whoever you’re tracking fails to agree, I get to pick who it goes to next.”
“Fine.” I turn my eyes away, dismissing him.
“Don’t you want to know who I plan to choose?”
“No.” I take a sip of my beer. My attention is on the door—an old habit of mine. I hear Ron walk away from me at the same timeshewalks in.
It’s the same girl I saw last week. She might be the best way to blow off some steam. I keep my eyes on her. She’s wearing a flowing skirt with a tank top. She looks more relaxed and less uptight in this outfit. Tonight, she’s not looking to impress anyone. Her hair is piled high on her head in a sloppy ponytail. My fingers itch to either yank her hair free or grasp around it.
She moves around the room until her slim body sits at the bar. This time, she orders a scotch on the rocks, and her facial features relax as she takes a sip, her whole body slouching in her chair.
My thumb slides against my fingers, over and over. She’s not my type, but I feel drawn to her. A night with no expectations, with someone who doesn’t know who I am, would do me good. I decide to test her. If she gives me some sad expression, I’ll order a drink and return to my spot. If she gives me a smile, looking to forget her troubles, I’ll offer her a drink.
